BODY OF THE LETTER     

The body of the letter is that part of the communication that is between the introduction and conclusion ,

It should begin under the end of the salutation ; but when the address is long , it may begin on the same line , a comma and a dash , or a colon and a dash , being placed between the last word of the salutation and the first word of the letter .

A blank margin that varies with the width of the paper should always be left on the left hand side of each page .

The margin should be perfectly even , and should  never be so wide or narrow as to go beyond the limits of taste .

On large letter -paper it should be about an inch ; on note-paper , about three-eights of an inch , when the sheet is quite small  , a quarter of an inch is sufficient .

A letter should be divided into paragraphs according to the rules for other composition , the first word of the paragraph should begin about one-sixth of the way across the line from left to right .

The penmanship should be legible , neat and elegant , flourishes in a letter are out of place , skipping is not to be commended , crossing letters is not entirely respectful to the person addressed , and blots and interlineations are not allowable .

The closing lines of the body of the letter are usually some expression of respect or attachment ; as in the following examples :

"Accept , Madam , the homage of my respect"  "The seniments with which you have inspired me , Sir , are equally sincere and permanent"  "I have the honour to be , Sir , with sentiments of respect and consideration"

The closing lines , such as the precedingg , are found with the ordinary formula that constitutes the conclusion.

                                                                     THE CONCLUSION       

The conclusion consistss of a complimentary close , and the signature ; it also contains the address of the person written to , if the same is not found in the introduction.

The complimentary close is the phrase of respect used at the end of a letter , it admits of a great variety of forms on social letters , such as your friend , ever yours , your affectionate father , ect, ; but in letters written on business , or to strangers and mere acquaintances , the usual form is yours truly, or yours respectfully , which admits of but slight variation , yours truly , or truly yours .

Official letters have a morenformal close than others , as :

I have the honour to be , Sir , with the highest consideration.

                                                                             Your obedient servant ,

                                                                                                                            O. O. H.

The signature is the name of the writer , and it should be attached to every letter , the name being written plainly and in full.

If the writer is a lady , she should sign her name so as to indicate her sex , and whether she is married or single , this can be done by prefixing Miss or Mrs.  A married lady generallyuses her husbands name , to which she prefixes the title Mrs. if he is living ; otherwise , she should use her own name .

The position for the complimentary close is on the line immediately below the body of the letter and may occupy from one to three lines .

The signature is written near the right hand edge of the sheet , on the line below the complimentary close .

The close and the signature must be arranged so that the initial letter of the lines will present a regular slope downward and to the right

If the address is not written at the top of the letter , it should be placed at the close , the beginning of the first word being located at the marginal line and on the line immediately below the signature .

                                                               FAMILY LETTERS 

Letters written from one member of a family  to another are less formal than any other kind of epistolary correspondence .

They should exhibit some characteristics of the writer ; should contain  information on minor matters as well as on subjects of more importance ; and should be written so as too give the greatest amount of satisfaction to the recipient .

                                                           LETTERS OF FRIENDSHIP 

Letters of friendship are more formal than family letters , contain less gossip , and embrace matters in which both the writer and recipient are interested .

Such letters should be answered with sufficient promptness to keep alive the friendship between the correspondents , unless there be a desire for this to cool .

                          LETTERS OF CONGRATULATIONS AND CONDOLENCE   

They should be breif , and confined to the matter foor which you offer your congratulations or condolence .

A letter of congratulations may be written to any acquaintance whom you wish to inform of the pleasure you derive from their success ; while a letter of condolence should be sent only to intimate friends or relatives , and should express real feeling for those in bereavement .

                                                              LOVE LETTERS         

 love letter should be dignified in tone and expressive of esteem and affection , it should be free from silly and extravagant expressions and contain nothing of which the writer would be ashamed were the letter to fall under the eyes of any person beside the one to whom it was written .

                                                                     REPLIES 

A reply should promptly follow the reciept of a letter ; it can not be civilly delayed for any great legnth of time '

It is customary to begin a reply by noticing the date of the letter to which an answer is given , one of the following forms is generally adopted :

"I hasten to answer the letter which you did me the honour of writing on the , ect."

"I have not been able , until this moment , to answer the letter which you did me the honour of writing on the , ect."

                                                                  THE STAMP  

Before sending a letter , affix to it a proper stamp , the communication will not be forwarded  unless it is prepaid one full rate .

The stamp should be affixed to the upper right hand corner of the face of the envelope , at about one-sixteenth of an inch from the top and one-eighth of an inch from the end.

The stamp is a picture , and should be right end up , its edges being parallel with those of the envelope , putting the stamp on upside down or awry indicates carelessness rather than rapidity , and any appearance of carelessness in a letter is disrespectful to the person to whom it is sent .

Be sure to put on an envelope as many stamps as neccessary to send the letter ; two stamps should be used if you are not certaain that one is sufficient .

                                                EPISTOLARY COMMUNICATIONS  I                     

Every letter is of some importance ; remember this before you begin to write .

Do not consult grammarians or lexicons , when you write a letter ; depend rather on an attentive perusal of the best epistolary authors of both sexes .

Study the letters of women in preference to those of men .

Before you begin a letter , imagine that you are in the presence of the absent person ; converse with him/her , pen in hand .

Julius Caesar dictated several letters at once ; do not imitate the Dictator of Rome , compose but one letter at a time .

In your letters to a man in office , or to a protecor , beware of exhibiting more intellect than he/she possessess .

Do not write a letter of reproof , immediately after a liberal repast .

Never write long letters to persons in easy circumstances .

Durig you whole life , write to your instructors or instructresses with as much respect and gratitude as to your parents .

In your letters , ask nothing and refuse nothing which would cause you to blush , if you were to make the request or denial in person .

Write all your letters in a simple style ; espcially those which are addressed to the unlearned , and to men of sense .

When you propose to be laconic in your letters , avoid dryness ; a dry style is the evidence of a barren mind .

A letter is like a nosegay ; the thoughts should be well assorted .

In a crowd of persons , there are no two countenances exactly alike ; let  the case be the same with your letters .

Speak of your friends , as if they were present ; write to them in the same manner .

In your letters , accommodate yourself to the respective capacities of your correspondents .

A young man should slacken his pace , when he walks with an old gentleman , or with a lady .

Do not amass a previous store or brilliant or profound ideas in order to dispose of them in your letters as occation may require .

In the epistolary style , it is especially true , that we must live from day to day .

Every kind of style may enter into the composition of letters .

In this respect everything depends on the subject and the writer , the sublime does not exclude simplicity ; on the contrary , it includes it .

If you can not aviod superfluities , in your letters , be incorrect rather than pedantic .

Do not meditate long before writing a letter ; but invariably revise it , after it is written .

Be sparing in the use in the use of puns in conversation ; employ them still more sparingly in your letters .

A father and son shoud not address each other as companions ; but the letters of brothers may resemble those of friends .

The mutual letters of a married pair , when absent from each other , should be affectionate and delicate .

Many things should be the mere subject of conjecture ; they may occasionally be spoken , but never committed to writing

                                                    EPISTOLARY COMMUNICATION II   

Let your tongue and your pen have full scope ; but act like a skillful horseman , and let them constantly feel , that they shall be free only while they abstain from abusingg the libertywhich you grant to them in your conversation or letters .

Be brief when you write to magistrates ; they have neither time nor patience to read long epistles .

When you inflict censure , or bestow praise in your letters , be concise .

Let every expression in your letters have the air of civility , this will render affected compliments and politeness unnecessary , too many persons are polite in order to avoid civility .

Never send a letter which has produced weariness or trouble in writing , it would certainly weary the reader .

When you are thirsty you drain a cup at a single draught , attend to rhe proper time for composition , and let your letter be commenced and finished , as it were , with a single stroke of the pen .

In all your coversations forbear to sacrifice truth to considerations of civility or respect ; avoid the same fault in your letters , a spoken falsehood is a great evil ; a written falsehood is a still greater one .

As the first thoughts are often the best , be careful to answer a letter without delay , no harm, however will result from deferring the reply for a day or two , espcially if it relates to an affair of importance